Whitehall Area Rotary Club held its annual speech competition, featuring five contestants from Whitehall High School, March 13 at Fellowship Community, Whitehall. The final five were chosen from a slate of 60 WHS students. The first-place winner, Isabella Berry, will compete at the next level representing Whitehall Area Rotary Club.

The club’s annual 4-Way Test Speech contest is open to all high school students, grades 9-12. Each contestant chooses the topic of his or her speech. The purpose of the speech is to persuade others while applying the principles of the test, which asks the following four questions: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

The speech needs to be five to seven minutes in length. Running longer will cause the contestant to have points deducted. The speech must follow the following guidelines: It must be original, stay within the time limit, have no props or audience participation and relate to the 4-Way test questions.

WHS teacher and English department head Michelle Abbadessa organizes and coordinates the school’s role in the competition. Club members and officers and employees at Fellowship Community helped at the competition by being judges, timekeepers and teller.

The final five from Whitehall, all seniors, are Dylan Carfara, Steven Hanson, Leeya Millen, Kelly Wallitsch and Berry. Berry’s speech addressed the need for an increase in the federal minimum wage, earning her $250 from the Rotary Club.